Association between TSLP gene polymorphism and bronchial asthma in children in Beni Suef Governorate in Egypt

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway that is mediated by T-helper 2 (TH2) cells. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) gene can exacerbate the lung inflammatory process in asthma by enhancing TH2 differentiation through dendritic cell activation. Many studies showed that TSLP polymorphisms are related to bronchial asthma susceptibility in different populations. The objectives of this study are to study the polymorphism of the two SNPs Rs2289276 and Rs2289278 in TSLP gene and to analyze any possible relation to pediatric bronchial asthma liability in Egypt using case-control study. DNA was extracted from blood samples withdrawn from 40 asthmatic patients and 20 age- and sex-matched normal controls, then the genotypes of SNPs Rs2289276 and Rs2289278 in TSLP gene were identified with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), and genotypes and allele frequencies were calculated and statistically analyzed. Genotypes of Rs2289276 site in the asthmatic patients were dissimilar from those of the controls (P = 0.045). The genotypes of Rs2289278 in asthmatic patients were significantly different between those of intermittent and severe asthma (P = 0.044). Bronchial asthma susceptibility and severity are related to TSLP variants. Thus, TSLP might be a new target molecule for asthma treatment.